This week, US jeans labels the National Jean Company and Earnest Sewn will host a fashion to kick off a five day charity initiative which will result in old denim clothes being recycled into cotton insulation.

The fashion show will take place at Slate Lounge in New York where entry to the show will require the donation of an old pair of jeans. Consumers will also be able to donate denim clothes at the National Jean Company’s New York stores from 8 – 13 April.

Donated jeans will go to the ‘Cotton. From green to blue’ project run by Cotton Inc., which is an environmentally aware initiative where denim is recycled into ‘UltraTouch’ natural cotton fibre insulation and is donated for rebuilding houses in the hurricane-affected Gulf Coast region.

Fashion store Guess will partner with the Cotton Inc. initiative during April and May and between April 19th and April 26th during Earth Week, Guess customers can donate their own pair of jeans at select US retail stores. In exchange for the donation, Guess will offer a 10% discount towards the customer’s next purchase of Guess denim.

The sustainability initiative from Cotton Inc is one of a number of environmental projects that the US company is involved in as it looks to combat the weight of industry comment that sometimes saddles cotton with a bad eco-profile. This negative press is largely due to cotton production outside the US and is something noted by Cotton Inc. which represents US cotton.

On the recently expanded sustainability section of Cotton Inc.’s web-site, J. Berrye Worsham, the CEO noted “developed nations have the resources and responsibility to explore new and better ways of producing cotton, once established, these innovations tend to be adopted on a global basis,” adding, “it does not happen overnight, but the momentum of environmentally-friendly cotton is building around the world.”

Source: Eco Textile News